Tom Tancredo Tries To Rewrite History When He Compares The Legacies Of Carter And Bush
Tom Tancredo has never been accused of being an intellectual, but now he will never be accused of being an historian.
When Ed Shultz asked Tom Tancredo what other president left their successor with such a bad set of circumstances, Tancredo replied,”Carter came close” and rattled off the following statistics to back up his claim.
- 12% interest rates.
- 20% inflation rate.
Well, we can add another thing Tancredo will never be mistaken for…An economist.
Where to begin?
First, inflation never reached 20%, in fact it never reached 14%. It is also important to remember that the major reason why inflation spiked during Carter’s presidency was due to the oil shocks of the 70’s, something Gerald Ford, a Republican, had to deal with as well.
Second, the reason why interest rates were so high was because Carter was trying to fight the inflating dollar. Keep in mind that Reagan kept interest rates elevated well into his first four years.
So Tancredo blames Carter for inflation being too high, and then also blames Carter for trying to lower inflation by raising interest rates. You can’t have it both ways Tom.
Carter could have kept interest rates artificially low, but that would have simply pushed the problem onto the next president, something Bush is all to familiar with.
Aside from Tancredo’s bogus economic argument, let’s look at other unsavory circumstances Bush left Obama.
- War in Iraq.
- War in Afghanistan.
- Faltering car industry.
- Devastated banking industry.
- Rising unemployment.
- A shattered reputation abroad.
Do I really need to go on?
